Boston’s VentureFizz.com Interview Cognate Founder, Bennett Colleen

Thankyou to Venture Fizz for searching us out and listing Cognate as one of the blockchain start ups to talk about.

This is how they introduce their piece.

The investors have given their two (probably blockchain/cryptocurrency-based) cents on the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector in Boston in Part 2 and a handful of them spoke about industries and companies that are getting involved.

But, what else is going on? And, more interestingly, who are the other startups and entrepreneurs getting involved with this space here in Boston?

Our deep dive into the blockchain and cryptocurrency scene in Boston continues, as we enter Part 3 and profile a collection of startups utilizing blockchain and cryptocurrency technology. This isn’t a complete list per say, as many of the startups in this sector are still in stealth mode.

I had a chance to speak with multiple entrepreneurs, all of which had different career backgrounds. Some ranging from first-time founders to serial entrepreneurs. However, each company carries a common trend with how each founder views the technology as disruptive. Since blockchain/cryptocurrency tech is open source, entrepreneurs and engineers have taken it upon themselves to build unique applications for an abundance of industries.

Here’s Bennett’s exchange with the publication.

“My parents are trademark lawyers, so I learned a lot about trademark law at the dinner table, whether I wanted to or not,” said Cognate CEO and Founder Bennett Collen. “I was originally an environmental science major, but I got sucked back in.”

Cognate is a platform built from the Ethereum blockchain, and it utilizes the smart control protocol in order for SMBs and startups to store trademark and promotional information. Users will write-up the information regarding trademarks, including logos, slogans, and domain names, which, in turn, can be accessed by trademark lawyers when cases involving infringement or bootlegs come up.

Bennett Collen, Founder and CEO of Cognate

However, Cognate wasn’t always built off of Ethereum, and they went through the classic early-stage pivot. Collen was introduced to the cryptocurrency world through the Blockchain at MIT event in 2016. While he heard about Bitcoin, he started to understand the blockchain technology behind it, and how it can be applied to his business.

“It wasn’t so much a business pivot, but more of a tech pivot. The immutable data, along with the timestamps, really helped drive the point home for me,” said Collen. “After about a month of conviction, I convinced myself and our CTO to make the switch. I didn’t do it for the buzzwords; I did it because the technology elegantly solved this problem.”